Author: Badalian Vardan

GENOCIDE ARMENIEN : QUAND LA SOCIETE TURQUE S’EVEILLE

Publie le : 14-04-2015

Info Collectif VAN – – France5 a diffuse dimanche
12 avril a 22:25, “Genocide armenien, le spectre de 1915”, l’excellent
documentaire de Nicolas Jallot consacre au genocide armenien et
a ses repercussions actuelles en Turquie, auprès d’intellectuels
turcs. Il donne la parole a Hasan Cemal, petit-fils de l’un des trois
genocidaires de 1915 (Djemal Pacha), dont le livre 1915 : Genocide
vient de paraître en France, et a l’avocate turque Fethiye Cetin qui
s’est decouvert sur le tard des racines armeniennes : sa grand-mère
maternelle lui a revele avant de mourir qu’elle etait une orpheline
armenienne, dont la famille a ete engloutie dans ce premier genocide du
XXe siècle. Ces deux voix turques ouvrent le champ des possibles mais
ne peuvent faire oublier que la population turque est majoritairement
alignee sur le discours ultra nationaliste et negationniste de ses
gouvernements successifs. Une realite masquee par la conclusion très
consensuelle de Fethiye Cetin, concernant la “reconciliation”.

Autre bemol : Hrant Dink est presente en ces termes :”journaliste
turc d’origine armenienne”. Or, la minorite armenienne de Turquie
beneficie officiellement d’un statut de minorite. Ses membres,
chretiens, sont identifies comme “Armeniens de Turquie”. Et non comme
“Turcs d’origine armenienne”, definition qui correspond aux Turcs qui
– comme Fethiye Cetin – se decouvrent pour partie armeniens a l’âge
adulte mais ne sont pas comptabilises dans les chiffres officiels
du Patriarcat armenien d’Istanbul. “Genocide armenien, le spectre de
1915”, a voir et revoir en Replay.

France5

Genocide armenien, le spectre de 1915

Diffuse le dim. 12-04 a 22h25

Nicolas Jallot / Realisateur Nicolas Jallot / Auteur Regis Gente
/ Auteur

Resume 1915. L’Empire ottoman est plonge dans la Grande Guerre,
qui entraînera sa chute. Dans ce contexte historique, plus d’un
million d’Armeniens sont massacres par les Turcs. Le premier genocide
d’un siècle qui n’en sera pas avare. En Turquie, son evocation a
toujours ete occultee. Pourtant, au sein de la societe turque, des
voix s’elèvent pour dire la necessite de la verite. A l’occasion du
centenaire de la tragedie, ce document s’interesse a deux personnages,
un Turc et une Armenienne de Turquie. Hasan Cemal, journaliste et
intellectuel, est le petit-fils de Cemal Pacha, l’un des planificateurs
du genocide. Son cheminement l’a amene a se rebeller contre l’histoire
officielle. Fethiye Cetin, avocate et militante des droits de
l’homme, a decouvert qu’elle etait la petite-fille d’une rescapee du
massacre. Elle oeuvre pour que la Turquie retrouve la memoire.

À visionner ici

Genocide armenien, le spectre de 1915

Lire aussi :

Agenda – Hasan Cemal : “1915: Le genocide armenien” aux Editions Les
Prairies ordinaires

GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO CALL FOR EVACUATING ARMENIAN KIDS FROM ALEPPO

12:02 * 14.04.15

The Armenian Government has offered its readiness to assist in the
evacuation Aleppo-Armenian children from the war-torn city.

“The Government is ready to host and offer the necessary conditions
to the children and pupils moving to Armenia from Aleppo,” a source
from the Government’s press service told Tert.am.

It comes after reports emerged about the continuing Islamist rocket
raids in the city’s Armenian-populated district, Suleymanie. The
attacks raised panic among the Armenians of Syria, with many voicing
calls in the social networks for evacuating children from the war zone.

U.S. EMBASSY ORGANIZES A “CLARA BARTON READING TOUR” ACROSS ARMENIA

12:34, 14 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

In celebration of the Armenian National Library Week, the U.S. Embassy
is organizing from April 13-17 a “Clara Barton Reading Tour” to
schools in Yerevan and in each of the five American Corners in
Armenia. Ambassador Mills kicked the week off with a Clara Barton
reading at the Yerevan American Corner.

Each participating school is being visited by a pair of Embassy
employees, one American and one Armenian, who will read the book Clara
Barton, Our Angel Too in both English and Armenian to the students,
followed by a short discussion about Clara Barton’s life and work. The
American Corners in Vanadzor, Gyumri, Charentsavan, and Kapan will
each host a Peace Corps volunteer to lead the discussions.

Clara Barton (1821-1912) is remembered as a friend to Armenia, and for
her compassion, humanitarianism, and commitment to helping people,
regardless of race or nationality. Clara Barton, a nurse during the
American Civil War, founded the American Red Cross. At the age of 74,
in response to the humanitarian crisis in the wake of the Hamidian
Massacres, she travelled to Constantinople and opened the first
American International Red Cross headquarters there. Her efforts
helped save tens of thousands of Armenians.

The United States has been a steadfast friend to Armenia, and has
stood shoulder to shoulder with Armenia in times of need. Clara Barton
is an example of that solidarity. Her life showed the power of one
person to make a difference for thousands.

FERVENT INTERNATIONAL REACTION MAY FADE IF ARMENIA ISN’T CONSISTENT (VIDEO)

12:50 | April 14,2015 | Politics

Turkey responded very aggressively to the speech of Pope Francis,
who called mass killings of Armenians in 1915 “1st genocide of the
20th century”. Turkey even recalled its Ambassador to Vatican.

Armenian political analysts are surprised at the reaction of Turkey.

Pope just repeated the words said still in 2001 by his predecessor-
Pope John Paul II.

Representative of ARF Armenian Cause Office in Yerevan isn’t surprised
at Pope’s speech. He doesn’t reject that the liturgy in memory of
the Armenian Genocide victims and the speech of Pope, which filled
the media, have been for the benefit of our country.

Fervent international reaction, though, may fade if Armenia isn’t
consistent.

The specialists and politicians don’t exclude that Turkey may try to
take more decisive steps by using both the Armenian-Turkish protocols
and the NK conflict. But at the same time they assure that the state,
which killed 1.5 million Armenians in 1915, will sooner or later
recognize and compensate.

CALL ON GOVERNMENTS TO BOYCOTT EUROPEAN GAMES IN BAKU

14:58 | April 14,2015 | Politics

45 international human rights organizations, politicians, experts call
on the heads of the states and the international community to boycott
the European Games in Baku and impose sanctions on the Azerbaijani
officials, informs Contact.az.

The published text reads as follows: “Taking into consideration the
alarming human rights situation in Azerbaijan, the Western governments
must impose a visa ban for those Azerbaijani officials, who are
responsible for violations of human rights.”

According to the statement, it is necessary to stop economic
cooperation with Azerbaijani state institutions. Leaders of the
states, which are going to participate in the European Games in Baku,
are called on to boycott the Games and to organize parliamentary
hearings on the situation in Azerbaijan.

The importance to boycott the European Games is discussed in detail in
the document, in particular, the fact of numerous political prisoners
is highlighted in the document.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT ARMENIANS AND GENOCIDE

New York Times
April 13 2015

By RICK GLADSTONEAPRIL 13, 2015

Pope Francis’ description of the killing of Armenians 100 years ago as
a genocide has caused a diplomatic uproar with Turkey and elevated
resilient historical arguments about what really happened. The
arguments are likely to intensify as Armenia prepares to officially
commemorate the event in less than two weeks.

Here are some questions raised by the pope’s statement, made during
Sunday Mass, and by the response from Turkey, which condemned his
remarks as “baseless” and recalled its ambassador from the Vatican.

Q. What does genocide mean and what is its origin?

A. Genocide is generally defined as the deliberate killing of people
who belong to a particular racial, political or cultural group,
with the intent of the killers to destroy the existence of that
group. The term did not exist until 1944, when a Polish-Jewish lawyer,
Raphael Lemkin, was credited with creating it to describe systematic
mass killings conducted by the Nazis, including the destruction of
Europe’s Jews. According to the website of the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, Mr. Lemkin combined the Greek word for race or tribe,
“geno,” with “-cide,” from the Latin word for killing. The term was
incorporated into the 1948 United Nations Convention on Genocide.

Q. What is the historical event at issue?

A. It refers to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, starting in 1915,
when the Ottomans, who were aligned with Germany in World War I,
sought to prevent Armenians from collaborating with Russia and ordered
mass deportations from the empire’s eastern provinces. As many as 1.5
million ethnic Armenians died from the combination of forced exodus,
starvation and killings by Ottoman Turk soldiers and the police. About
500,000 Armenians survived, and many scattered into Russia, the United
States and elsewhere in what became an Armenian diaspora. The term
genocide has been retroactively applied by many historians to that
period, which is now widely acknowledged to be the first genocide of
the 20th century.

Q. Why is Turkey’s government so opposed to the use of the term
“genocide” to describe what happened?

A. Turkey’s government has acknowledged that atrocities were committed
during that period but has argued that a large number of Turks were
also killed, and that to portray the killing of Armenians as systematic
and intentional is historically inaccurate. Turkey’s government has
disputed the number of Armenians killed, suggesting it was far lower
than 1.5 million. The government has often responded angrily when
other countries, groups and individuals call the Armenian killings
a genocide.

Q. How many other countries have taken a position on this question?

A. According to the website of the Armenian National Council of
America, legislatures in at least 15 countries, and the Council
of Europe and the European Parliament, have passed resolutions
recognizing the Armenian genocide. The United Nations Sub-Comission on
the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities has also
described the period as genocide. Some countries, including Switzerland
and Greece, have called for criminal charges against those who deny it.

Q. What is the position of the United States government on use of
the word genocide to describe what happened?

A. Successive administrations have sought to skirt this question
because of Turkey’s growing importance, both as a NATO ally and as an
influential political and economic power in the Middle East. They have
also described the use of the term genocide as harmful to efforts at
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. When President Obama first campaigned
for president in 2008 he used the term genocide but has softened
his description since taking office, calling the period of history
an atrocity and a dark chapter, but resisting efforts by members of
Congress to bring a resolution on the question to a vote. Pope Francis’
use of the term genocide in his Sunday Mass has raised speculation
that Mr. Obama might do so as well.

Q. What special events are planned to commemorate the centennial?

A. Prominent Armenians in the diaspora have already started
commemorating the 100th anniversary. Some have collaborated with
Hollywood celebrities to award a humanitarian prize, starting next
year, in honor of those who helped to save Armenians during that
period. In Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, the centennial will be
officially remembered on April 24 and will be attended by a number
of world leaders, including President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

The parliament of Armenia is also likely to adopt a statement
before the centennial remembrance calling on parliaments and
interparliamentary organizations around the world to recognize the
Armenian genocide.

Daily Sabah, Turkey
April 12 2015

Pope’s Armenia comments one-sided and incoherent: PM DavutoÄ?lu

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu on Sunday blamed Pope Francis
for using a ‘inappropriate’ and ‘one-sided’ language after the pontiff
described the killings of Armenians during World War I as “the first
genocide of the 20th century.”

Speaking at a closing ceremony in Istanbul, DavutoÄ?lu said “only
highlighting one side’s suffering during war time and discriminating
the others’ pain is not appropriate for the pope and the authority
that he holds.”

DavutoÄ?lu also said that the pope’s one-sided and incoherent statement
gives credence to rising racism and anti-Turkish approach in Europe.

On Sunday, Pope Francis called the 1915 incidents involving Armenians
“genocide” on Sunday during a Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite at
the St. Peter’s Basilica, which Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan also
attended.

Following the pope’s remarks, The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned
Vatican’s envoy to Ankara and re called its ambassador to Vatican to
Ankara for consultation and related the message that the incident has
caused “loss of trust” and would be met with a response.

The foreign ministry also released a statement regarding the incident,
saying “Pope Francis, who has defended the opinion of building peace
and friendship between different groups around the world since the day
he was assigned as Pope, has discriminated about people’s suffering,
overlooked atrocities that Turks and Muslims suffered in the First
World War and only highlighted the Christian suffering, especially
that of the Armenian people.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt ÇavuÃ…?oÄ?lu also slammed Pope’s
statement earlier in the day via social media, saying: The Pope’s
statement, which is out of touch with both historical facts and legal
basis, is simply unacceptable.

“Religious offices are not places through which hatred and animosity
are fueled by unfounded allegations,” ÇavuÃ…?oÄ?lu shared through
Twitter.

The Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following
the revolts and there were Armenian casualties during the relocation
process.

Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey has
officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents saying
that, although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also
lost their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.

The Turkish government has repeatedly called on historians to study
Ottoman archives pertaining to the era in order to uncover what
actually happened between the Ottoman government and its Armenian
citizens.

The debate on “genocide” and the differing opinions between the
present day Turkish government and the Armenian diaspora, along with
the current administration in Yerevan, still generates political
tension between Turks and Armenians.

Turkey’s official position against allegations of “genocide” is that
it acknowledges the past experiences were a great tragedy and that
both parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim
Turks.

Ankara agrees that there were certainly Armenian casualties during
World War I, but says that it is impossible to define these incidents
as “genocide.”

In 2014, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an expressed his condolences for
the first time to all Ottoman citizens who lost their lives in the
events of 1915.

“May Armenians who lost their lives in the events in the early
twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to
their grandchildren,” ErdoÄ?an said.

Independent Catholic News
April 12 2015

Pope Francis: Opening address to Armenian Christians during Mass on
Divine Mercy Sunday

Posted: Sunday, April 12, 2015 4:11 pm.

“On a number of occasions I have spoken of our time as a time of war,
a third world war which is being fought piecemeal, one in which we
daily witness savage crimes, brutal massacres and senseless
destruction. Sadly, today too we hear the muffled and forgotten cry of
so many of our defenceless brothers and sisters who, on account of
their faith in Christ or their ethnic origin, are publicly and
ruthlessly put to death – decapitated, crucified, burned alive – or
forced to leave their homeland.

Today too we are experiencing a sort of genocide created by general
and collective indifference, by the complicit silence of Cain, who
cries out: “What does it matter to me? Am I my brother’s keeper?” (cf.
Gen 4:9; Homily in Redipuglia , 13 September 2014).

In the past century our human family has lived through three massive
and unprecedented tragedies. The first, which is widely considered
“the first genocide of the twentieth century” (JOHN PAUL II and
KAREKIN II, Common Declaration , Etchmiadzin, 27 September 2001),
struck your own Armenian people, the first Christian nation, as well
as Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and
Greeks.Bishops and priests, religious, women and men, the elderly and
even defenceless children and the infirm were murdered.

The remaining two were perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism. And more
recently there have been other mass killings, like those in Cambodia,
Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia.

It seems that humanity is incapable of putting a halt to the shedding
of innocent blood. It seems that the enthusiasm generated at the end
of the Second World War has dissipated and is now disappearing. It
seems that the human family has refused to learn from its mistakes
caused by the law of terror, so that today too there are those who
attempt to eliminate others with the help of a few and with the
complicit silence of others who simply stand by. We have not yet
learned that “war is madness”, “senseless slaughter” (cf. Homily in
Redipuglia , 13 September 2014).

Dear Armenian Christians, today, with hearts filled with pain but at
the same time with great hope in the risen Lord, we recall the
centenary of that tragic event, that immense and senseless slaughter
whose cruelty your forebears had to endure. It is necessary, and
indeed a duty, to honour their memory, for whenever memory fades, it
means that evil allows wounds to fester. Concealing or denying evil is
like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it!

I greet you with affection and I thank you for your witness. With
gratitude for his presence, I greet Mr Serž Sargsyan, the President of
the Republic of Armenia. My cordial greeting goes also to my brother
Patriarchs and Bishops: His Holiness Kerekin II, Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians; His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the
Great House of Cilicia, His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX, Patriarch of
Cilicia of Armenian Catholics; and Catholicosates of the Armenian
Apostolic Church and the Patriarchate of the Armenian Catholic Church.

In the firm certainty that evil never comes from God, who is
infinitely good, and standing firm in faith, let us profess that
cruelty may never be considered God’s work and, what is more, can find
absolutely no justification in his Holy Name. Let us continue this
celebration by fixing our gaze on Jesus Christ, risen from the dead,
victor over death and evil! ”

Source: VIS

Channel News Asia
April 12 2015

Pope riles Turkey by calling WWI slaughter of Armenians ‘genocide’

While many historians describe the cull of Armenians as the 20th
century’s first genocide, Turkey hotly denies the accusation.

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis uttered the word “genocide” on Sunday (Apr
12) to describe the mass murder of Armenians 100 years ago, sparking
fury from Turkey which slammed the term as “far from historical
reality”.

In a solemn mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica to mark the centenary of
the Ottoman killings of Armenians, Francis said the murders were
“widely considered ‘the first genocide of the 20th century’,” quoting
a statement signed by Pope John Paul II and the Armenian patriarch in
2001.

Many historians describe the World War I slaughter as the 20th
century’s first genocide, but Turkey hotly denies the accusations.

“The pope’s statement, which is far from the legal and historical
reality, cannot be accepted,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu said on Twitter. “Religious authorities are not the places
to incite resentment and hatred with baseless allegations,” he added.

The foreign ministry summoned the Vatican envoy to Ankara to explain
the pope’s comments. It accused the pontiff of engaging in a
“one-sided narrative” that ignored the suffering of Muslims and other
religious groups at that time.

While Francis did not use his own words to describe the killings as
genocide, it was the first time the term was spoken aloud in
connection with Armenia by a head of the Roman Catholic Church in
Saint Peter’s Basilica.

“It was a very courageous act to repeat clearly that it was a
genocide,” Vatican expert Marco Tosatti told AFP. “By quoting John
Paul II, he strengthened the Church’s position, making it clear where
it stands on the issue,” he added.

‘EVIL WOUNDS FESTER’

The Argentine pope described the “immense and senseless slaughter” and
spoke of the duty to “honour their memory, for whenever memory fades,
it means that evil allows wounds to fester.”

The 78-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church had been under
pressure to use the term “genocide” publicly to describe the
slaughter, despite the risk of alienating an important ally in the
fight against radical Islam.

Before becoming pope, Jorge Bergoglio used the word several times in
events marking the mass murders, calling on Turkey to recognise the
killings as such.

As pope, Francis is said to have used it once during a private
audience in 2013 – but even that sparked an outraged reaction from
Turkey.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915
and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, and have long sought
to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide.

But Turkey rejects the claims, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000
Armenians and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose
up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian
troops. More than 20 nations, including France and Russia, recognise
the killings as genocide.

Vatican expert John Allen said ahead of the mass that the “truly bold”
thing for Francis to do was “show restraint” – something the pope may
feel he has achieved by uttering the word “genocide” but only while
quoting his Polish predecessor.

When Francis visited Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered
the pontiff a pact under which he would defend Christians in the
Middle East in exchange for the Church tackling Islamophobia in the
West, Allen said – describing it as “a potential game-changer”.

‘MUFFLED AND FORGOTTEN CRY’

In 2014, Erdogan, then premier, offered condolences for the mass
killings for the first time, but the country still blames unrest and
famine for many of the deaths.

Francis said the other two genocides of the 20th century were
“perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism”, before pointing to more recent
mass killings in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia. “It seems that
humanity is incapable of putting a halt to the shedding of innocent
blood,” he said.

The Armenian victims a century ago were Christian and although the
killings were not openly driven by religious motives, the pontiff drew
comparisons with modern Christian refugees fleeing Islamic militants.

He referred once again to the modern day as “a time of war, a third
world war which is being fought piecemeal”, and evoked the “muffled
and forgotten cry” of those “decapitated, crucified, burned alive, or
forced to leave their homeland.”

“Today too we are experiencing a sort of genocide created by general
and collective indifference,” he said.

Vatican watcher Marco Politi said the address was typical of a pope
who “uses language without excessive diplomatic cares” and whose aim
was to “stimulate the international community” to intervene in
modern-day persecutions.

– AFP/ek/ec

Starr 103.5 FM
April 12 2015

Pope Francis calls Armenian WW1 killings ‘genocide’

Apr 12, 2015 at 8:47am

Pope Francis has used the word “genocide” to describe mass killing of
Armenians under Ottoman rule in WW1 100 years ago, at a Vatican church
service.

Armenia and many historians say up to 1.5 million people were
systematically killed by Ottoman forces in 1915.

But the Pope’s statement is expected to anger Turkey, which has
consistently denied that the killings were genocide.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is attending the service, to honour
a 10th century Armenian mystic.

The dispute has continued to sour relations between Armenia and Turkey.
‘Bleeding wound’

The Pope first used the word genocide for the killings two years ago,
prompting a fierce protest from Turkey.

At Sunday’s Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite at Peter’s Basilica, he
said that humanity had lived through “three massive and unprecedented
tragedies” in the last century.

“The first, which is widely considered ‘the first genocide of the 20th
Century’, struck your own Armenian people,” he said.

The other two were the Nazi Holocaust and Stalinism, Associated Press
reported him as saying.

He said it was his duty to honour the memories of those who were killed.

“Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it,” the Pope added.

On Sunday, Pope Francis was also to honour the 10th Century mystic St
Gregory of Narek by declaring him a doctor of the church. Only 35
people have been given the title, reports AP.

Armenia marks the date of 24 April 1915 as the start of the mass
killings. The country has long campaigned for greater recognition of
what it regards as a genocide.
‘Political conflict’

In 2014, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered condolences to the
grandchildren of all the Armenians who lost their lives for the first
time.

But he also said that it was inadmissible for Armenia to turn the
issue “into a matter of political conflict”.

Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-16 as the Ottoman
empire split. Turkey has said the number of deaths was much smaller.

Most non-Turkish scholars of the events regard them as genocide. Among
the other states which formally recognise them as genocide are
Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay.

Turkey maintains that many of the dead were killed in clashes during
World War I, and that ethnic Turks also suffered in the conflict.